Does YC tag still have value?

Has anyone applied to YC? If yes what was your experience, what all have you done before applying to YC? What was your market segment? Any other stories and gyaan related to applying and working with YC please!

The title speaks for itself. As a fresher, should I focus only on developing my experience or should I care about funding, number of employees and all that stuff? By the way this startup is a part of YC.

Reading this feud on X. Any YC or Neo founders here who can spill more?

I recently worked at a startup and it was terrible. To be honest, I still worked at one of the better ones but it just sucked. Some of the clear downsides I see - Survival mode leads to chaos. You can be treated anyway and asked to leave whenever even though you left big opportunities to be here - Brand loss to find next job (Big problem) - Trying to make you feel unworthy(Doesn't bother me but I have seen people lose self confidence) - Loss of opportunity to build real skills like building sustainable teams for the long run I think over all working at a startup especially early teams is a losing proposition. Do it only if - - you know the founders/team well - you know the industry and market well and it is a bet you personally believe in - you are secure enough in life that if you go back to your job, you will easily get employed For middle class kids, startups are the worst bets one can take.

please share anecdotes

Hi folks, thinking of writing a regular mini blog here about my learnings being a generalist in the ecosystem. I currently handle growth at an ecom startup and have previously been through 2-3 startups + a large corporate in my 7 year career. #1: Why you should not stay only in startups Recently started reflecting on salaries of many peers who are also startup folks and trying to see where it stands. There are 3 cohorts: a. People who started out in Big 4/Corporate & then became a generalist: They've been underpaid the most. First pay was 4-5L, and when they transitioned to startups, started at 7-9L. Over time, growing from there is difficult without MBA. b. People who have forever been in startups: They earn more than A on average. But here too, there is a delta in their salaries vs. people with same YoE who went to an MBA and are in corporate now. Side note: I've seen this cohort has usually loved what they've done, and being in startups definitely has positively impacted their thought process. c. People who went to a corporate/big tech etc. mid way: This cohort has done the best long term. Their pay got recalibrated when they went to a larger company in the middle through their career, and when they rejoined startups, they were respected more in salary negotiation. This is to anybody out there who is a generalist and sees a similar path. Try to sandwich a proper, large company in your career. It gives you perspective on whether you like it and if startups is really your preferred route. And it also recalibrates your pay. Startups will limit you basis your last salary. Corporates have standards basis bands. Just something to think over. NOTE: Do share feedback, if this makes sense. And if you'd like to read more of these too.

Which YC funded Indian startups have been successful over the years? Successful = Profitable / Growing Revenue YoY with necessary burn / Dominant Market share. The Indian startups accepted list seems to have increased to a handful every year, but don't see any of them creating the impact that one expects from businesses selected by a seed platform that prides itself on extreme scrutiny for all applicants. Where do you think is the gap? American understanding of Indian business models / consumers / market or somewhere else?

willl try my best to be honest, ask me anything